ST. LOUIS, MO 1978; GOD's GRAND PLAN ALREADY GONE AWRY (originally posted 3/5/2010)...

BECAUSE I LOVE 
YOU!

In August and September of 1978, I had been talking to my eldest sister Esther about coming to Bible School. My sister Esther, her former husband Manuel, and my brother Andrew had visited Becky in the summer of 1975, at NTCC’s Bible College in St. Louis, MO. They had told Becky that they were interested in coming to school (Midwestern Bible Institute at the time).
 
When they returned to California, they had jobs to work at, so their attention was shifted away. Fast forward to September 1978, NTCC's fall semester was starting. My ex-husband (Rick) was pressuring me to call Esther, and tell her she needed to come to St. Louis NOW. Because we had been often told by Pastor Davis, "If you don't go now, you'll never go". Every time I'd call home and talk with her, I would put pressure on her. But they didn't have the finances to come at the time. I told her she could stay with us till they were able to get on their feet. She arrived in St. Louis in September 1978, towards the end of the month. I was so excited to have my big sister (Esther) there. I told her she could get a job where I use to work, and I'd take care of the girls (her daughters) for her. It was perfect, my old job was right down the street from the church and our Apartment. The Lord was working things out. Becky couldn't help out because she and John had moved to Louisiana to start a Servicemen's home in Leesville LA.

In October 1978 we were going to have our first Conference, the church from Tillicum was coming, Mom and Pop Gaylord, and John and Becky. Mom & Pop Gaylord had gone to pastor a church in Jennings LA, at the request of an old friend. But when Pop took over, and started preaching, the friend became jealous, and turned on them. The church split and Mom and Pop began having church services in their home. Later the services were moved to the club house of the local Kiwanis, where we rented the building for a year. Then Pop got the traveling bug, and talked to Pastor Davis about getting the church started, and then training a young couple to take over. Rick was approached and presented with the plan, and he accepted it. When I was told, I was so upset, and told him I didn't want to go. I had only been in school for 2 years I had come to school to learn (and originally return back home), not go out there and learn OJT (on the job training). My other concern was Esther, she needed us and now we were going to abandon her! Since she came at our urging, we had a responsibility toward her. I told Rick he should have never pressured her into coming if we were not going to be faithful to her. But he was more concerned about himself, and what he'd get out of it, and his pleasing Pastor Davis. I packed unwillingly, and was burdened for my sister. So Esther and her daughters were then allowed to move into the girls dorm. While living in the dorm she supported two of the girls who didn't have jobs yet. There was no food in the house, so she took from her check to buy groceries to feed them all. It was hard for her, her job was not an easy one. When Diana Taylor and I worked there, we'd come home so tired, it was a very physical job.

ARRIVAL OF MY BROTHER IN-LAW MANUEL, AND MY MOTHER:

Manuel (Esther's then husband) did not come with Esther because he was busy working, and trying to save money for the trip. He wanted to be able to rent an apartment when they arrived, and get settled in. He asked my mother to accompany him so she could help keep him awake, and do some of the driving. It was during the winter when they left L.A. for Missouri, and the roads were full of black ice. My Mom says it was the worse trip she'd ever been on. When Esther got the call that they'd be arriving soon, Eli and Mary Gesang offered to keep them till they got an apartment.

When Mom and Manuel got there my nieces were very sick, and Esther was very thin. My Mom was alarmed at how Esther looked. Many people who know my mother, know she is a woman of hospitality. For years (while we were all growing up) we had been used to my parents inviting strangers in, or taking in people who said they were Christians, and helping them out till they got on their feet. My mother meant no harm when she decided to cook something for her hosts and family (Mom is an excellent cook, just ask Greg). She found the Gesang's cupboards bare, and asked Esther, "What have you been eating"? She wanted to be a blessing to Mary and Eli for giving them shelter. Instead of allowing it to being a blessing, Mary took it as, "My mother was snooping around". She told Eli, and he rebuked my mother saying "She had no business going into their cupboards". Thus rebuking an older christian women (my Mom) who had already been in the ministry over 20 years. Who only wanted to do right by the family who took her daughter (Esther) in.

My nieces were sick, one had severe diarrhea running down her legs, and the other had an infected toe that caused her so much pain. My Mother decided to stay home with the girls on a church night, what good was it to take a sick child to church? Eli took it upon himself to tell my mother she couldn't stay home. He said "We don't stay home from church, when we're sick, we go to church". So my mother went to church, and while in church she noticed how Pastor Davis stationed his chair on the platform, staring (scowling) down at people. I know there are many who have witnessed this (only all of us), as if he's trying to intimidate us. Not only does Pastor Davis do this, but I've seen many of NTCC's ministers do this too. It's too bad my niece didn't poop all over the pews and rug! She asked Eli about this, and he went and reported it. After she asked that question it was a downward spiral from then on. My mother was labeled a "SPY"; that she had come to SPY on NTCC, so that she could report back to "First Spanish Church of God in Christ" headquartered in Pueblo, Co.

This accusation was so far from the truth. Excuse me, but my mother is not a gossiper like the wives of the Board Members. She doesn't go around asking about who's interested in who, she's not a matchmaker, nor does she go around checking to see who's wearing what. If you're wearing a color that's not in season, or if you're wearing boots. Eli made her cry, and she said nothing to defend herself. Eli and Mary were the SPIES. Everything they heard they ran to Pastor Davis to tell him of. Esther told my Mother to be careful what she said because people listened through the walls. The Gesang's listened when my Mother asked Esther to let her take the girls home with her. That this would make it easier for Esther and Manuel to get situated, attend Bible College and when they were ready for the girls to come, my Mom would bring them back. Now, you tell me what harm could be done in doing this? What was the big hairy deal? Doesn't sound out of the ordinary to me. Esther agreed, and my mother took the girls back to L.A. on a plane.

The Gesang's told Pastor Davis, and he was furious at Esther for allowing this. Pastor Davis said "The Holy Ghost had told him that my mother had come to spy and take back my nieces". Remember, all he does is by the Holy Ghost. That night after church, Eli told Esther and Manuel that they had to move out, they were no longer welcomed in his house. Pastor Davis told the congregation that anyone who gave them shelter would be excommunicated from the church (so why did Pastor Davis punish my Sister and Brother-in Law for something Mom supposedly did wrong). Eli put my sister and her husband out on the street. They had no where to go, they hadn't the funds for an apartment, and they didn't know anyone else besides the church people. But the Lord was watching out for them! Yet Esther and Manuel still attended church while Pastor Davis unloaded both barrels at her from the pulpit. There was a new family who had come from Colorado and the wife of this brother had a couple of sons. Apparently, her sons were being picked on too and she didn't like it. The brother's last name was Salvador but his first name escapes me. I would like to personally thank him for opening his home to my family. He was the true christian that day. Brother Salvador also had a younger brother named Ray (Ray and Bernice Salvador) who was spoiled and immature. Ray was put on the board at that time. It went to their heads, his wife Bernice was a real piece of work. They spied on others, even his own brother and sister in-law. They also talked about a lot of people; were back stabbers.

Brother Salvador saw Esther and Manuel and told them to come stay at his house. Esther was fearful and told him "No brother you heard what Pastor Davis said, we don't want to be the cause of you getting excommunicated". But he insisted and said "I've seen and heard a lot of things today, and I cannot believe what I'm hearing"! He said " I feel as if I'm in a country with no freedom, people spy on you, including my own brother, and the way you and your husband are being treated"! "That is not Christ like". He said "no one is going to tell me who I can't have in my house". So Esther and Manuel went to his house. Pastor Davis had sent out Lee Taylor and Eli Gesang to go and search the Church's houses to find where they were at. When they knocked on Brother Salvador's door, and asked if Esther and Manuel were there, he told them yes they were. Lee and Eli tried to force their way in the door. Then they told Bro. Salvador that Pastor had sent them to see who was giving them shelter. Bro. Salvador stood his ground and would not let them in, he told them they are my guests.

In the last service Esther and Manuel attended, Esther was told to go to Pastor's office. I don't know if Rev. Olson was present, and if he wasn't why not? Did Pastor Davis follow his own advice about having someone else present to protect his testimony? He told Esther that she had come to destroy the church, and that she would NEVER, EVER AMOUNT TO ANYTHING! Was he pronouncing a curse on her?

THE RETURN HOME TO WEST COVINA, CA:

When my mother returned home she told my father of their treatment. He could not believe these were the same people he'd met in the summer of 1974 when they went to see Becky, and that were recruiting people to go to Davis Bible College. Dad was horrified at how Eli treated my mother (his wife). That Christians could treat others in such a manner. This was truly CONDUCT UNBECOMING OF A MINISTER! When Esther and Manuel returned home, Esther was in a deep depression. Truly devastated spiritually. She felt lost, and was tormented by the memories. She felt she was unworthy, and that God had left her. But I thank God for my parents who are prayer warriors. They exhorted and prayed for Esther to come out of her depression. My Mom told her "No man can take away what God has given to you, you had God's anointing before you went there and they can't take it away from you! Get a hold of God for yourself, and ask him what He wants you to do!" Thank the Lord, Esther has finally recovered, and God has a work for her. When my parents relocated to Colorado, to pastor a church there, Esther and Manuel moved there also. After leaving NTCC, Ray Salvador came by to visit my parents. I don't know if it was to ask for forgiveness, or to let them know he wasn't part of NTCC anymore. He left NTCC because of the many things he had saw that weren't right.

JENNINGS, LA:

When all this took place, Becky and I were in Louisiana. I in Jennings, and she in Leesville. Pastor Davis made a trip down there, I don't know if it was for business, to talk with us, or both. But we were told he was coming, and we would be getting together for a special service. It was Sunday afternoon when he talked with her and I. He told us..."The Holy Ghost had told him my Mom had come to take the girls back home with her, and that Esther was going to go home too. That Esther was being rebellious, and had been talking during the service while he was preaching (at her I presume). That they had left for California. How that Eli reacted unwisely." I don't believe he's (Eli) ever apologized for his actions to this day. When we were told this we were floored! I cried, and Becky cried, and got mad later. To the extent that we both wrote letters home, excoriating our parents and sister. I mean to the effect that we said "we disowned them!" I am so ashamed of my actions towards my family, that I would believe someone over them, without giving them the benefit of a doubt, without even finding out their side.

I guess Pastor Davis thought my family would right away call us to tell us what went on (since he has long been the master of strike first and strike hard damage control). But we had no clue as to what had gone on. My parents are not gossipers, they keep things to themselves. My father doesn't counsel people, then go tell my mother what took place in a private session, or use it as material for the next preaching service. Eli told Pastor of my mother asking my sister to let her take the children home with her. Was the Holy Ghost telling Pastor my mother had come to take the kids back, by way of Eli Gesang? I am now very leery of people saying the "The Holy Ghost told me yadda, yadda, yadda". I've heard too many NTCC ministers use this cliche for their own pride, and to scare people into thinking how close to God they are. I'm so glad God dealt with my heart about this, and I asked my family to forgive me face to face. When I'm wrong I will not be ashamed to ask you for forgiveness. It's in my heart to be kind and loving, and when I know that I'm wrong I will be the first to admit it.

Does the Holy Ghost destroy people's lives, and cause them to not want any part of God anymore. This doesn't sound like the Holy Ghost I know, or the Holy Ghost of the Bible. Rather, he restores and heals the broken hearted, the wounded, and gives hope to the weary. How many people have been broken and wounded by such "men of God." I've heard so many NTCC preachers take pride in how they can brow beat their congregations.

Famous quotes "You should have seen their face when I told them this from the pulpit" or "I preached this and this at them" or “I really blasted them” or 'I really put the fear of God in them". You're not preachers, you're task-masters. You enjoy lording your position over others, instead of being a servant. Wake up people. Take a good look at yourself, before you point your pious finger at others.

ESTHER'S DREAM:

In this last part I want to share a dream my sister Esther had before she went to St. Louis in 1978.

In this dream she saw Becky, Bernice Salvador, and Diana Taylor walking in a field. This field was not an ordinary field. it was very dirty like the oil fields we have in Long Beach, Ca. Which is considered a polluted area. If you've ever seen an oil field you know around the pumps are pools of oil. Esther was standing by the edge of these pools, she could see that on the top was clear water, but at the bottom it was black. She saw Becky, Bernice and Diana swimming and playing in this water. She called out in alarm "How can you swim in that dirty water." They said no it's not dirty, come on in it's okay, Esther stood at the edge warning them, when suddenly Becky grabbed her ankles and tried to pull her in. Esther was yelling no, don't pull me in, I can't swim, and she began crying for them to stop. But they all laughed and continued. Esther woke up from that dream yelling and crying.

This is the first time she shared this with me, because of what we were taught in NTCC, that women don't dream. Until this year, when I asked what happened when she went to St. Louis in 1978. I know my sister, and she does not take spiritual things lightly. When Esther went to St. Louis, she had nothing but good memories of the time they had visited in the summer of 1975. She had no knowledge of how cruel people from NTCC could be with people who decided to think for themselves. When she told me this dream she said she had never mentioned it to us, because she didn't know if we would believe her. Sister I believe you. Just think if she had adhered to the dream, it would have saved her a lot of heartache and trouble.

To the all the wounded and broken hearted still in NTCC, and that have been hurt by NTCC...I can't heal your wounds, but I know there is a God who is able to take away your pain and suffering, and replace it with joy and peace. Cry out to God and He will answer you! I leave you with the admonition my mother told my sister during her darkest hour "GET UP AND PRAY, A MAN CANNOT TAKE AWAY FROM YOU, WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU, IT'S NOT HIS TO TAKE!"

May the Lord bless you all, and keep you in his care =)

Deborah